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HENRY  D.  GREGORY 


A 
LAYMAN'S  LOOK 

-A^T 
FOUR  MIRACLES' 


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LAYMAN'S  LOOK 


AT 


FOUR  MIRACLES 


BY 

HENRY  D.  GREGORY, 

LATE  VICE-PRESIDENT   OF  THE  GIRARD   COLLEGE   FOR   ORPHANS, 
PHILADELPHIA. 


PHILADELPHIA: 

PRINTED  BY  J.  B.  LIPPINCOTT  COMPANY. 
1894. 


BsuH'-l 


A 


LAYMAN'S  LOOK 


AT 


FOUR  MIRACLES 


BY 

/ 

HENRY  D.  GREGORY, 

LATE  VICE-PRESIDENT   OF  THE   GIRARD   COLLEGE   FOR    ORPHANS, 
PHILADELPHIA. 


PHILADELPHIA: 

PRINTED  BY  J.  B.  LIPPINCOTT  COMPANY 
1894. 


xy 


COI'YRIGHT,    1894, 
BY 

Henry  D.  Gregory. 


A.  M.  D.  G. 

ET 
AD    MEMORIAM   UXORIS   SUAE 

MARY  GREGORY 

FEMINAE    ELECTISSIMAE 
HUNC  LIBELLULUM 

DEDICAT 
AUCTOR 


A  LAYMAN'S  LOOK 

AT 

FOUR    MIRACLES 


A  TEACHER  in  Studying  the  Bible,  sometimes  for  his 
own  satisfaction,  sometimes  that  he  might  explain  it  to 
his  pupils,  has  been  led  to  look  upon  some  passages  in 
lights  which,  though  not  common,  have  appeared  to  him 
to  be  both  sound  and  helpful.  Especially  has  this  been 
the  case  in  regard  to  several  of  the  miracles.  He  seems 
to  have  gained  a  better  understanding  of  the  particular 
miracles  considered ;  and  at  the  same  time,  to  receive 
more  readily  as  true,  those  miracles  which  he  does  not 
understand.  He  submits  these  views  in  the  hope  that  the 
points  taken  may,  in  the  judgment  of  some  readers,  be 
esteemed  sound,  and  may  prove  to  them  such  a  means 
of  comfort  as  they  have  been  to  himself 

It  may  perhaps  save  repetition  to  premise  a  few  words 
on  miracles  in  general.  And,  first,  a  miracle  may  be  de- 
fined as  an  occurrence  which  is  wonderful  in  such  a  man- 
ner, that  we  cannot  but  regard  it  as  of  superhuman  origin. 
It  will  be  noticed  that  no  reference  is  made  to  its  relation  to 
the  Laws  of  Nature.  The  Laws  of  Nature  may  be  looked 
upon  as  the  totality  of  the  ordinances  to  which  God  has 
subjected  His  Creation ;  and  these  must  be  regarded  as 
perfect  and  unchangeable ;  but  it  is  only  in  the  infinite 


6  A  Layman's  Look  at  Four  Miracles. 

knowledge  of  God,  that  the  Laws  of  Nature  are  thus  found. 
With  our  Hmited  intelHgence,  we  receive  them  by  degrees: 
at  any  given  time,  our  knowledge  of  them  is  imperfect,  and 
we  may  be  ignorant  of  many  laws,  we  may  esteem  as 
laws  some  things  which  are  not  at  all  such. 

Now,  it  is  not  to  be  overlooked,  that  if  we  use  the 
phrase,  the  Laws  of  Nature  in  the  definition  of  a  miracle, 
of  necessity  the  phrase  carries  with  it  the  idea,  "  as  un- 
derstood by  man."  But  these  laws  have  at  different  times 
been  understood  very  differently,  and  the  changes  of 
opinion  in  regard  to  them  have  been  many  and  great. 
The  opinions  now  held  as  to  the  shape  of  the  earth ;  the 
arrangement  of  the  parts  of  the  solar  system,  and  their 
motions ;  the  law  of  gravitation ;  the  circulation  of  the 
blood;  the  character  of  the  imponderables  (viz.,  heat, 
light,  and  electricity),  whether  they  are  material  sub- 
stances or  vibrations  ;  the  origin  of  many  rocks,  whether 
igneous  or  sedimentary ;  in  chemistry,  the  views  of  the 
alchemists,  the  phlogistic  and  antiphlogistic  theories, 
and  the  new  chemistry,  are  all  due  to  comparatively 
modern  times.  On  these  and  many  other  subjects,  our 
predecessors  sometimes  were  without  a  law ;  oftener  held 
laws  quite  different  from  those  now  prevailing.  Their 
confidence  in  their  views  was  probably  as  great  as  ours. 
Unless  we  are  more  fortunate  than  they,  we  must  expect 
our  views  to  be  revised,  modified,  perhaps  rejected,  by 
the  generations  to  come.  To  make  the  reality  of  a 
miracle  dependent  upon  its  relation  to  our  understand- 
ing of  the  Laws  of  Nature,  would  be  to  obstruct  all 
assurance  that  a  communication  came  from  Him  that  is 
above  us,  would  be  to  shut  out  God  from  our  senses  and 
thought,  and  that,  upon  the  authority  of  man^ — an  inver- 


A  Layman^ s  Look  at  Four  Miracles.  7 

sion  of  the  order  of  supremacy  and  dependence  out  of 
all  reason. 

Secondly,  it  may  further  be  observed,  that  it  is  no 
disparagement  of  the  miraculous  character  of  an  occur- 
rence, if  natural  causes  intervene  in  its  production.  It 
may,  for  all  that,  be  "  wonderful  in  such  a  manner  that 
we  cannot  but  esteem  it  of  superhuman  origin."  For 
an  example :  when  (Ex.  xvii.  6)  Moses  smote  the  rock 
in  Horeb,  who  can  be  sure  that  any  violation  of  the  chain 
of  natural  causes  and  effects  took  place  ?  A  crevice  in 
the  rock,  conveying  water,  may  have  been  opened  by 
the  blow  that  was  struck.  But  who  could  assure  him 
that  water  would  follow  the  stroke  ?  Only  God.  That 
answer  to  faith  and  obedience  was  miraculous. 

Indeed  in  some  instances,  the  use  of  second  causes  is 
distinctly  stated.  In  Ex.  xiv.  21  we  read,  "The  Lord 
caused  the  sea  to  go  back  by  a  strong  east  wind  all  that 
night,  and  made  the  sea  dry  land,  and  the  waters  were 
divided."  The  passage  of  the  Red  Sea  was  natural 
enough ;  but  by  no  means  removed  by  this  from  God's 
control,  and  the  discernment  of  this  control,  exercised 
for  their  deliverance,  constituted  it  a  miracle. 

Is  Moses  to  be  assured  that  the  voice  which  addresses 
him  in  the  wilderness  is  indeed  that  of  the  Almighty ; 
is  the  boat's  crew  upon  the  Sea  of  Galilee,  trembling  and 
ready  to  perish,  to  know  that  the  voice  which  rebukes 
the  wind  and  the  sea,  speaks  with  the  authority  of  the 
Creator ;  are  the  many  thousands  of  Israel  at  Sinai  to 
feel  that  they  are  in  the  presence  of  the  great  Maker  of 
All,  in  whose  hands  their  life  and  breath  are ;  no  whit 
of  the  demonstration  shall  be  lacking:  It  is  God  who 
descends,  who  summons,  who  commands :  every  intelli- 


8  A  Layman's  Look  at  Four  Miracles. 

gent  being  present  is  a  witness,  competent  and  confident. 
Nor,  if  God  employs  a  creature  that  He  has  made,  an 
agency  that  He  has  appointed,  a  law  that  He  has  estab- 
lished, does  He  thereby  make  it  less  real,  that  it  is  He 
who  acts ;  or  make  it  less  our  bounden  duty  to  obey 
Him.  The  children  of  Israel  were  stubbornly  set  to  do 
evil,  to  worship  the  impure  idols  of  the  heathen.  Day 
by  day,  for  three  years  and  six  months,  were  a  brazen 
sky,  a  land  of  drought,  a  starving  people,  fulfilling  the 
word  of  the  prophet  of  the  Lord ;  yet  that  fire  from 
heaven  which  consumed  the  victims,  the  stones  of  the 
altar,  and  the  abundant  water  of  the  trench,  was  no 
more  the  work  of  the  Almighty  than  the  long  preceding 
drought. 

In  the  drought  He  revealed  the  means  to  human  sight ; 
in  the  blazing  sacrifice  He  concealed  them.  Alike  the 
deeds  were  His. 

Thirdly,  though  the  proverb,  "  Possession  is  nine 
points  of  the  law,"  is  oftenest  quoted  with  the  thought 
of  unjust  possession;  yet  it  has  much  wider  scope  in 
the  sphere  of  rightful  ownership.  It  is  in  virtue  of  the 
truth  underlying  this  proverb  that  we  labor  and  save, 
invest  and  rest,  not  fearing  to  be  deprived  of  the  acquisi- 
tions of  our  sires,  or  of  the  fruits  of  our  own  industry. 

The  same  holds  good  in  the  realm  of  thought.  The 
wide  spread  of  an  opinion  in  regard  to  matters  of  fact, 
occurrences  of  which  one  can  be  assured  by  his  senses, 
give  to  the  opinion  the  probability  of  a  real  foundation 
in  the  actual  occurrence  of  the  facts.  The  reception  of 
such  an  opinion  during  many  centuries  by  the  descend- 
ants of  those  originally  present,  and  a  history  punctuated 
with  circumstances  naturally  resulting  from  the   facts, 


A  Layman's  Look  at  Four  Miracles.  g 

place  the  burden  of  proof  upon  all  who  would  make  ob^ 
jection. 

The  scriptural  account  of  the  miracles  is  in  this  posi- 
tion. We  do  right,  therefore,  in  reading  to  assume  their 
truth.  They  enter  into  our  acquaintance  as  one  reliably 
introduced,  or  as  an  hereditary  friend.  If  we  do  not 
understand  how  they  are,  we  do  well  to  rest  in  faith  upon 
the  record ;  but  if  we  find  corroborative  testimony  in 
various  directions,  and  especially  when  we  find  natural 
law  cooperating  in  their  production,  all  the  more  do  we 
with  reverence  admire  His  infinite  wisdom  unto  whom 
are  "  known  all  His  works  from  the  beginning  of  the 
world."  The  miracles  to  be  noticed  are  the  swallowing 
of  Jonah,  and  his  restoration ;  the  fall  of  the  walls  of 
Jericho ;  the  sun's  delay  at  Joshua's  command ;  the  uni- 
versal deluge. 

It  may  be  well  to  look  first  at  the  account  given  of  the 
swallowing  of  Jonah  by  the  whale.  For  of  all  the 
miracles  recorded,  not  one  has  been  more  the  object  of 
ridicule ;  while  the  grounds  for  impugning  the  truth  of 
the  Scripture  account  are  of  the  flimsiest  character. 
What  has  been  alleged  against  it  ? 

I.  It  is  said  to  have  taken  place  in  the  eastern  end  of 
the  Mediterranean  Sea,  and  that  there  are  no  whales  in 
that  sea.  If  this  were  now  true,  it  would  prove  nothing 
as  to  the  occupants  of  that  sea  in  Jonah's  day,  eight 
hundred  years  before  Christ.  It  is  natural  to  suppose 
that  the  great  increase  in  navigation,  and  still  more  the 
acquisition  of  knowledge  by  which  ships  would  cross  the 
sea,  instead  of  creeping  along  the  shores,  would  increase 
"  the  fear  and  dread"  of  man  among  the  inhabitants  of 
the  deep ;  and  so,  as  has  been  the  case  with  more  than 


lO  A  Layman's  Look  at  Four  Miracles. 

one  class  of  animals,  we  should  not  be  surprised  at  a 
difference  between  now  and  then.  '  But  the  assertion  is 
not  true.  Of  the  cachalot,  or  sperm  whale,  the  Library 
of  Universal  Knowledge,  or  Chambers's  Encyclopaedia, 
under  the  article  Cacholot,  says  it  is  "  not  of  frequent  oc- 
currence on  the  European  shores,  although  it  sometimes 
enters  the  Mediterranean,  and  is  occasionally  stranded  on 
the  coast  of  Britain."  The  Century  Dictionary  says,  "  Its 
chase  is  important  in  the  warmer  waters  of  all  seas." 

2.  But  it  is  said  a  whale  cannot  swallow  a  mackerel, 
much  less  a  man.  If  we  speak  of  the  Greenland  or 
right  whale,  or  any  of  the  baleen  whales,  which  instead 
of  teeth  are  provided  with  strainers  of  fringed  whalebone, 
it  is  true  that  the  throats  of  these  and  their  food  are 
small.  But  we  are  not  to  hunt  up  a  whale  which  can- 
not swallow  a  man,  that  we  may  substitute  it  for  that 
which  God  sent  to  receive  Jonah  when  cast  into  the  sea. 
Of  the  sperm  whale  it  is  said  in  the  Scripture  Natural 
History,  "  This  species  feeds  on  lump  fishes,  dog  fishes, 
cuttle  fishes,  and  occasionally  swallows  the  shark,  which 
the  width  of  its  gullet  enables  it  to  do  entire."  The 
Library  of  Universal  Knowledge  tells  us  "  the  mouth 
is  very  large  and  wide;  and  the  throat,  unlike  that  of 
the  Greenland  whale,  is  very  wide,  sufficiently  so  to  admit 
the  body  of  a  man," 

3.  We  may  be  told  that  Jonah,  if  swallowed,  would 
only  be  smothered  instead  of  being  drowned.  To  be 
sure,  if  we  conceive  of  him  as  engulfed  in  the  animal's 
paunch,  the  gaseous  products  of  that  region  might 
appear  either  deadly  in  character,  or  insufficient  in 
quantity.  Yet  Beale,  in  his  Natural  History  of  the 
Sperm  Whale,  after  stating  that  he  has  four  stomachs. 


A  Layman's  Look  at  Four  Miracles.  1 1 

adds,  "  I  think  it  must  be  allowed  that  the  first  stomach 
must  be  a  reservoir." 

But  is  there  any  need  of  this?  Is  there  not  better 
accommodation  awaiting  him  in  the  air-passages  of  the 
animal  ?  For  it  is  well  known  that  the  whales  are  mam- 
mals, warm-blooded  animals.  Instead  of  drawing  in 
water,  and  separating  from  it  a  scanty  supply  of  air  by 
gills,  it  has  lungs  and  breathes  air,  and  so  must  at  mod- 
erate intervals  raise  its  head  partly  above  water.  The 
blowing,  sometimes  called  spouting,  is  not  of  water,  but 
the  rejection  of  the  air  vitiated  by  its  breathing,  and 
visible  like  our  breath  upon  a  frosty  morning,  by  the 
quantity  of  vapor  that  is  condensed  as  it  issues.  Some 
spray  may  be  seen  when  the  whale  has  begun  to  blow 
while  the  orifice  was  not  yet  above  the  water.  The 
sperm  whale  has  but  one.  Air  enough  for  Jonah  to 
breathe  would  hardly  be  missed  from  the  inbreathing  of 
the  gigantic  cetacean. 

It  only  remains  to  consider  what  room  he  will  find 
there;  and  this  may  be  roughly  inferred  by  considering 
the  amount  of  air  necessary  for  an  animal  of  such  size, 
and  consequently  the  magnitude  of  the  passage  which 
conveys  air  to  the  lungs,  the  windpipe.  In  February, 
1 8 19,  a  cachalot  was  captured  in  Whitstable  Bay,  Eng- 
land, which  was  sixty-three  feet  long.  Its  heart  was 
three  feet  across,  and  the  aorta,  or  main  artery,  was  a 
foot  and  three  inches  in  diameter.  What  a  supply  of  air 
must  be  used  to  vitalize  such  a  stream  of  blood,  what 
passages  to  convey  it  to  the  lungs,  and  to  remove  it !  To 
compare  his  consumption  upon  even  terms  with  ours, 
taking  man  at  five  feet  eight  inches,  and  his  aorta  at 
three-quarters  of  an  inch,  a  whale  sixty  feet  long  would 


12  A  Layman's  Look  at  Four  Miracles. 

need  a  windpipe  twenty-five  inches  in  diameter ;  but  if 
the  comparison  be  made  with  one  of  eighty  feet  in 
length,  and  such  are  found,  we  must  expect  a  windpipe 
of  thirty-nine  inches.  It  is  not  then  extravagant  to  look 
for  a  diameter  of  three  feet  in  the  windpipe,  and  there  is 
room  enough  for  the  passenger.  As  to  his  comfort,  the 
whale,  with  such  a  crumb  started  in  the  wrong  way, 
would  be  far  worse  off  than  Jonah.  And  for  that 
reason  he  would  cough  his  tenant  up  as  soon  as  possible, 
who,  since  the  sea  had  ceased  from  its  raging,  would 
strike  out  for  the  shore.  Can  we  imagine  when  the  ship 
made  the  nearest  port,  some  other  passenger,  to  have 
landed,  and  found  his  way  to  Nineveh,  and  told  the 
strange  story  up  to  the  casting  of  Jonah  overboard, 
and  on  Jonah's  subsequent  arrival  recognized  him  as  the 
man? 

We  have  then  the  wonderful  occurrence  that  the 
Maker  of  all  punished  His  disobedient  servant  without 
the  violation  of  any  of  His  laws ;  yet  it  was  a  most  sur- 
prising miracle,  and  one  which  an  acute  mind  may 
readily  receive  as  probably  contributing  to  the  final 
reception  of  Jonah's  message  by  the  inhabitants  of 
Nineveh. 

The  fall  of  the  wall  of  Jericho,  recorded  in  the  sixth 
chapter  of  Joshua,  is  the  second  miracle  proposed  for 
consideration. 

The  walls  of  cities  in  those  ancient  days  were  formi- 
dable affairs.  The  scouts  are  mentioned  as  reporting 
the  cities  of  Canaan  as  "  great,  and  walled  up  to  heaven." 
(Deut.  i.  28.)  The  heathen  dwellers  in  Jerusalem  thought 
themselves   in  safety,  though  only  "  the  lame  and  the 


A  Layman's  Look  at  Four  Miracles.  1 3 

blind"  should  be  left  to  defend  them.  The  Ten  Thou- 
sand, Xenophon  tells  us,  passed  in  their  Retreat,  at 
Larissa,  a  wall  one  hundred  feet  high  and  twenty-five 
feet  in  thickness ;  and  at  Mespila,  one  that  was  higher 
by  fifty  feet.  Jericho  was  probably  the  second  city  in 
the  land  of  Canaan,  and  fortified  accordingly ;  yet  its 
bulwarks  were  in  vain. 

No  battering-ram  was  moved  against  them,  no  bank 
of  earth  was  reared,  nor  engines  of  war  constructed ; 
but  it  fell  without  a  blow.  Day  after  day  did  the  host  of 
Israel  march  around  the  doomed  city,  perhaps  a  laugh- 
ing-stock to  those  who,  for  defence  or  from  curiosity, 
were  upon  the  wall.  Midway  of  the  column  were  the 
priests  bearing  the  ark  of  the  covenant,  and  blowing 
trumpets  of  rams'  horns.  Six  days  was  this  done,  once 
each  day;  but  upon  the  seventh,  they  started  earlier, 
and  "  compassed  the  city  seven  times."  At  the  signal 
which  had  been  announced,  *'  a  long  blast  with  the  ram's 
horn,"  all  raised  a  mighty  shout ;  and  as  the  wall  fell  flat, 
every  man  marched  directly  before  him  into  the  city 
thus  left  without  a  wall,  and  almost  without  a  defender, 
for  the  tumbling  ruins  would  have  killed  the  most  of 
them. 

Without  any  light  on  the  subject,  well  might  one 
declare  it  "  an  immediate  interposition  of  miraculous 
power."  Bearing  in  mind  that  "  immediate"  means  with- 
out any  intervention  of  second  causes  between  God's 
will  and  the  accomplishment  of  the  fact,  let  us  study  a 
little  the  situation  of  the  place,  and  the  method  which 
the  army,  all  unknowing,  under  the  direction  of  God, 
All- Wise,  pursued. 

It  is  well  known,  that  in  crossing  a  bridge,  an  army 


14  A  Layman's  Look  at  Four  Miracles. 

must  drop  the  marching  step :  otherwise  it  may  break 
down  the  bridge.  The  sources  of  danger  are,  first,  the 
mere  weight  of  so  many  men ;  secondly,  the  addition  of 
the  shock  of  the  step,  which,  though  trifling  for  one  man, 
comes  to  a  very  important  amount  when  it  is  the  step  of 
thousands ;  but  last,  we  have  to  reckon  with  a  danger 
that  is  much  greater,  because  it  is  increased  at  every 
step.  According  to  its  length,  its  structure  (including 
the  strength  and  elasticity  of  the  materials),  and  the 
tension,  or  strain,  upon  it,  there  is  a  certain  interval  of 
time  in  which  the  bridge  passes  through  three  motions : 
it  yields  to  the  downward  impulse ;  it  recoils,  going  now 
above  its  original  position ;  and  goes  downward  again, 
though  not  so  far  as  at  the  first  descent. 

If  now,  there  follow  other  steps,  at  uniform  intervals 
of  time,  regulated  it  may  be  by  music ;  then,  in  case  the 
bridge  vibrates,  and  the  steps  succeed  each  other  in 
equal  time  with  the  vibrations,  at  each  downward  motion 
a  new  shock,  equal  to  the  first,  adds  its  effect  to  the  motion 
which  has  already  accrued.  Thus,  the  swing  (amplitude 
they  call  it)  grows  constantly  greater  and  more  powerful, 
and  the  fall  of  the  bridge  draws  nearer.  Some  may  find 
it  easier  to  trace  the  increasing  force  of  vibrations  in  the 
case  of  a  long  board  swinging  between  two  men  who  have 
happened  to  get  their  step  in  just  the  time  of  the  board's 
vibration ;  or  in  the  "  working  up"  of  a  common  swing. 

Jericho  was  situated  in  a  fertile  plain,  the  same  that 
attracted  Lot's  cupidity  (Gen.  xiii.  ii),  doubtless  under 
ordinary  circumstances  stable  enough.  But  we  know 
that  the  earth  can  receive  vibrations,  when  jarred ;  so,  too, 
can  the  air  or  a  wall.  In  short,  it  is  much  easier  to  ex- 
tend than  to  limit  the  list  of  things  that  vibrate.     Under 


A  Layman's  Look  at  Four  Miracles,  1 5 

the  command  of  God,  the  plain  of  Jericho  was  subjected 
to  the  rhythmical  tramp  of  six  hundred  thousand  fight- 
ing men.  It  could  not  but  vibrate,  and  that  with  in- 
crease of  response,  as  daily  it  was  solicited  by  the  same 
steadfast  persuasion.  We  look  with  interest  at  the  effect 
of  a  great  steam-hammer ;  but  that  is  a  trifle  to  the  force 
that  is  shaking  the  plain  of  Jericho,  and  the  waves  of 
which  draw  daily  nearer  to  the  wall.  That  wall  itself 
will  vibrate ;  and  with  a  tension  increased  by  the  people 
upon  it:  but  who,  save  the  infinitely  wise  Jehovah, 
knows  its  coincidence  with  the  rhythm  of  the  march, 
and  of  the  shout  which  followed  that  long,  loud  blast 
which  bade  the  army  close  ? 

The  result  teaches  even  the  most  untutored.  The 
Laws  of  Nature  suffered  no  violence :  they  fulfilled  the 
will  of  their  Author,  the  God  of  Nature.  Yet  was  it  a 
most  astounding  miracle  which  thus  began  the  conquest 
of  Palestine. 

In  taking  up  the  halting  of  the  sun  and  moon  at  the 
command  of  Joshua,  the  next  miracle  that  comes  to  be 
considered,  we  seem  to  meet  with  a  plain  breach  of  nat- 
ural law ;  for  what  could  be  more  contradictory  to  the 
course  of  nature,  than  for  the  sun  to  cease  his  daily 
course,  or,  what  is  the  same  thing,  for  the  earth  to  stop 
in  its  daily  rotation  ?  For  it  has  been  assumed  that  the 
Bible  says  that  the  sun  stood  still  for  a  whole  day.  It 
may  be  well,  first  of  all,  to  see  exactly  what  words  are 
used  to  tell  how  long  the  halting  continued.  It  is  all  in 
Joshua,  tenth  chapter,  and  thirteenth  verse,  where  the 
first  expression  is  "  until  the  people  had  avenged  them- 
selves upon  their  enemies."     As  this  gives  us  no  definite 


1 6  A  Layman's  Look  at  Four  Miracles. 

length  of  time,  we  pass  on  to  the  second  expression 
**  and  hasted  not  to  go  down  about  a  whole  day."  Now 
this  looks  at  first  as  if  "about  a  whole  day"  denoted  how 
long  the  space  of  time  was,  during  which  the  sun  hasted 
not  to  go  down.  Certainly,  if  it  had  read  "  during  a  whole 
day,"  or  "  for  about  a  whole  day,"  then  those  phrases 
would  have  shown  hozv  long ;  but  we  have  neither  of  these. 
The  word  "  about"  will  not  of  itself  determine  whether 
time  how  long  is  meant,  or  time  when.  "The  men 
worked  about  a  day:"  undoubtedly  here  we  have  dura- 
tion, but  it  is  not  the  "  about"  that  makes  it  so.  "  They 
departed  about  sunset:"  as  surely,  here  we  have  time 
when ;  but  neither  does  the  "  about"  make  that.  It  only 
tells  us  that  "a  day"  is  not  to  be  taken  as  a  minutely 
accurate  account  of  the  duration  in  the  one  case,  nor 
"sunset"  in  the  other  as  precisely  the  moment  when  they 
left  for  home. 

This  being  the  case,  what  certainty  we  can  attain  in 
regard  to  the  prolongation  of  the  day  intended  by  the 
writer,  must  be  drawn  from  the  probable  time  of  aveng- 
ing themselves  upon  their  enemies. 

"  Our  men  having  the  chase  and  execution  of  them 
near  eight  miles."  So  wrote  Oliver  Cromwell  of  what 
his  army  did  after  the  enemy  was  routed  in  the  battle  of 
Dunbar.  Joshua  had  accompHshed  a  forced  march,  and 
after  a  rest,  possibly  a  very  short  one,  had  fought  the 
great  battle  of  Gibeon.  How  many  hours  will  he  urge 
his  wearied  men  to  the  execution  of  vengeance  upon  the 
foe  ?  Include  the  circumstance  that  the  hail-storm  slew 
more  than  the  Israelites.  Would  not  three  hours  be  a 
fair  presumption,  and  five  hours  a  very  large  one  ?  So 
long  let  us  reckon  the  sun's  delay,  apparent  delay.     It  is 


A  Layman's  Look  at  Four  Miracles.  1 7 

then  entirely  possible,  as  the  account  stands  in  the  Eng- 
lish, to  suppose  the  period  during  which  the  sun  stood 
to  be  much  less  than  twenty-four  hours.  Before  making 
inquiry  what  prolongation  of  the  day  maybe  compatible 
with  the  facts  taught  by  astronomy,  let  us  compare  the 
testimony  of  the  Hebrew  original  with  that  of  the  Eng- 
lish version.  Corresponding  to  our  word  "  about,"  we  there 
find  the  inseparable  preposition  3.  This,  which  never 
stands  alone,  is  here  in  combination  with  ^"y^  day,  and 
followed  by  D^DD,  whole  or  complete.  This  inseparable, 
besides  the  meaning  of  "  such"  and  "  so,"  is  also  used,  as 
Gesenius  informs  us,  indefinitely,  as  equivalent  to  "  in 
some  way,  about,  with  numbers  of  measures  of  space 
and  time,  and  to  indicate  a  point  of  time  not  exactly  de- 
fined." This  last  is  just  the  use  of  the  English  word 
"  about,"  and  is  found  in  Exodus  xi.  4,  about  midnight ; 
Exodus  ix.  18,  to-morrow  about  this  time;  Daniel  ix. 
21,  about  the  time  of  the  evening  oblation.  "  In  all  these 
examples  3  may  be  translated  adverbially,  as  is  here 
done,  and  the  substantive  is  then  in  the  accusative  of  the 
time  when."  But  it  could  also  obviously  have  been 
translated  "at,"  for  Gesenius  goes  on  to  speak  of  3  as  a 
preposition,  and  under  the  third  head  remarks,  "  From 
the  adverbial  use  comes  the  use  of  this  particle  as  a 
preposition  of  time  or  space,  like  German  ?/;;/=  English 
about,  at ;  as,  Um  drei  Uhr,  which  means  not  only  about 
three  o'clock,  but  at  three  o'clock."  The  examples  of 
this  are  numerous,  Nordheimer's  Hebrew  Grammar  is 
to  the  same  effect. 

So  that  we  are  fully  justified  in  translating  "  So  the  sun 
stood  still  in  the  midst  of  heaven,  and  hasted  not  to  go 
down  at  a  complete  day."     That  is,  when  an  hour-glass, 

2* 


1 8  A  Layman's  Look  at  Four  Miracles. 

or  a  chronometer,  if  they  had  had  such  a  thing,  indicated 
the  time  of  sunset,  the  sun  appeared  to  be  distinctly  be- 
hind time. 

In  the  "Septuagint,  it  reads  oh  TZposTzopeoero  sl^;  dua/xdq  elg 

ri}.oq  ijfxipaq  luaq^  where  ^k  Corresponds  to  the  Hebrew  3. 
Although,  doubtless  as  a  result  of  the  greater  copious- 
ness of  the  Greek  language,  the  use  of  dq  in  the  mean- 
ing of  "  at"  is  far  less  common  than  in  the  corresponding 
Hebrew  preposition,  it  nevertheless  does  occur.  Wit- 
ness Acts  xiii.  42,  dq  TO  fjisrato  (jd^jSarov^  on  the  next  Sab- 
bath ;  Phil.  ii.  16,  sk  yj.uipav  Xpiaroo^  at  the  day  of  Christ; 
Aristoph,  dq  iaTzipa^,  at  evening. 

We  have  then  full  right  to  say,  after  a  careful  exami- 
nation of  the  record,  and  of  the  accordant  opinions  of 
grammarians  as  to  the  use  of  the  particles  in  Greek  and 
Hebrew,  that  we  are  under  no  necessity  of  considering 
the  clause  "  about  a  whole  day"  as  referring  to  the  dura- 
tion of  the  day,  but  that  it  may  just  as  properly  denote 
the  time  when  the  event  took  place,  the  point  of  time 
when,  the  day  being  complete,  the  sun,  that  should  as 
usual  sink  below  the  horizon,  instead  of  so  doing,  "  stood 
still  and  hasted  not  to  go  down." 

Obviously,  this  being  the  case,  we  should  follow  the 
course  by  which  in  our  daily  reading,  and  our  daily 
speech,  we  determine  similar  cases.  The  context,  the 
attendant  circumstances  will  require  one  or  the  other  of 
these  meanings  as  alone  consistent  with  them. 

What  then  are  those  circumstances  ? 

After  the  passage  of  the  Jordan,  the  children  of  Israel 
encamped  at  Gilgal,  and  remained  there  during  the  siege 
of  Jericho,  the  repulse  at  Ai,  the  capture  of  that  place, 
and  subsequently.     While  many  tribes  of  the  land  were 


A  Layman's  Look  at  Four  Miracles.  19 

gathering  to  confront  them,  the  people  of  Gideon,  an  im- 
portant city,  seeing  no  hope  of  safety  in  force,  used  craft 
with  success.  The  Israelites  made  a  league  with  them, 
and  when  the  fraud  came  to  light,  they  reduced  the 
Gibeonites  to  servitude,  but  spared  their  lives,  and  re- 
garded it  a  duty  to  extend  to  them  protection  in  case  of 
need. 

Adoni-Bezek,  king  of  Jerusalem,  had  at  the  time  of 
our  narrative  united  four  other  chiefs  with  himself,  and 
was  laying  siege  to  Gibeon  to  punish  the  inhabitants  for 
their  defection.  Too  weak  to  defend  themselves,  they 
sent  messengers  to  Joshua  to  ask  of  him  speedy  relief 
Starting  probably  by  night,  and  travelling  with  a  dili- 
gence stimulated  by  the  danger  of  their  homes,  they 
would  reach  Gilgal  fairly  early  in  the  morning.  Joshua 
hastens  to  defend  the  subjects  of  Israel ;  but  mobile  as 
his  forces  were,  he  could  not  set  out  under  several  hours. 
For  consider,  that  he  had  to  learn  what  the  messengers 
could  tell  him  of  the  forces  and  position  of  the  enemy, 
and  of  the  roads,  to  form  an  approximate  plan  of  the 
campaign,  to  appoint  what  force  he  would  leave  to  mask 
Jerusalem,  to  issue  his  orders  to  the  heads  of  tribes, 
and  have  the  men  take  what  rest  was  possible,  in  antici- 
pation of  the  long  march  of  twenty-six  miles  to  be  made, 
much  of  it  by  night.  In  all  likelihood  he  in  this  time 
carried  the  matter  to  God,  and  received  the  assurance  of 
success  mentioned  in  verse  eighth. 

If  we  may  assume  that  the  force  was  in  motion  by  five 
in  the  afternoon,  and  that  their  net  progress  was  two  and 
a  half  miles  per  hour,  they  would  be  drawing  near  to 
Gibeon  by  three  in  the  morning.  One  has  said  that  a 
way  should  always  be  left  for  the  enemy  to  retreat,  but  it 


20  A  Layman's  Look  at  Four  Miracles. 

is  only  sometimes  best.  In  Joshua's  case  his  opponents 
had  all  come  up  from  the  south  and  southeast,  the  hill 
country.  As  it  was  highly  important  to  keep  them,  if 
beaten,  from  re-entering  their  walled  towns,  he  would 
send  a  strong  detachment  by  and  beyond  the  south  side 
of  Gibeon.  It  seems  not  unlikely  that  after  short  con- 
ference with  such  authorities  from  the  city  as  could  come 
out  to  meet  them,  an  attack  soon  after  daybreak  com- 
pletely surprised  the  Canaanites. 

One  might  do  a  great  deal  of  guessing  about  the 
battle,  and  be  little  the  wiser.  Like  most  engagements, 
it  would  furnish  two  periods.  In  the  former,  a  stubborn 
resistance  made  the  issue  still,  humanly  speaking,  doubt- 
ful. The  fight  appears  to  have  been  long  maintained,  so 
that  the  heathen  suffered  "  great  slaughter"  at  Gibeon. 
After  being  overcome  and  broken  in  the  retreat  north- 
ward, the  narrow  and  precipitous  nature  of  part  of  the 
road  to  the  Upper  Beth-Horon,  giving  even  small  groups 
opportunities  to  resist,  contributed  to  delay  the  advance 
of  the  victors.  The  distance  is  about  ten  miles,  so  that 
it  may  have  been  well  on  in  the  day  when,  the  crest 
being  reached,  the  routed  foe  was  seen  in  full  flight  down 
the  slope. 

Probably  somewhere  here  it  was  that  Joshua  (was  not 
the  impulse  from  God  ?)  called  upon  the  sun  and  moon 
in  the  words  so  often  quoted.  As  he  saw  the  decline  of 
day  threatening  to  deprive  the  Israelites  of  much  of  that 
harvest  of  death  which  was  looked  to  as  the  first  fruits 
of  victory,  he  spoke,  and  the  Lord  answered  in  the  deed. 
"  Whatsoever  the  Lord  pleased  that  did  he  in  heaven  and 
in  earth,  in  the  seas  and  all  deep  places,"  Psalm  cxxxv. 
6.     Was  it  necessary  that  He  should  break  His  laws  in 


A  Layman's  Look  at  Four  Miracles.  2i 

order  to  obtain  His  pleasure  ?  Let  us  see.  The  sun  ap- 
peared to  remain,  or  to  go  but  slowly  down  the  west. 
When  the  day  was  complete,  according  to  all  other  ordi- 
nary tokens  of  the  passage  of  time,  this  one  was  lacking, 
for  the  sun  "  hasted  not  to  go  down."  Could  this  be  ? 
How  could  it  be  ?     How  long  could  it  be  ? 

"  The  heavens  declare  the  glory  of  God ;  and  the 
firmament  showeth  his  handywork"  is  not  only  true  of 
the  daily  and  nightly  panorama  above  us ;  and  of  the 
rarer  but  equally  regular  recurrence  of  eclipses,  transits, 
occultations ;  but  also  of  those  which,  while  rare,  have 
their  times  of  appearance  beyond  our  powers  of  calcu- 
lation. Among  them  are  halos,  and  parhelia  and  para- 
selenae  (mock  suns  and  mock  moons),  very  striking 
phenomena. 

In  the  halo,  circles  of  light,  sometimes  of  the  pris- 
matic colors,  sometimes  white,  surround  the  sun.  The 
commonest  is  the  single  circle  about  the  sun  as  centre  at 
a  distance  of  twenty-two  degrees.  Concentric  with  this 
is  seen,  but  not  so  frequently,  a  circle  with  a  radius  of 
forty-five  degrees.  With  these  are  other  circles,  tangent 
to  them,  or  cutting  them,  and  at  the  points  where  either 
of  these  takes  place,  the  light  is  stronger,  thus  forming  par- 
helia (mock-suns),  as  also  at  points  on  the  circumference 
vertically  above  or  below  the  sun.  Before  sunrise  and 
after  sunset,  the  intervention  of  the  horizon  does  not  in- 
terfere zvith  the  part  of  the  display  above  the  sun.  Though 
one  at  Hartford,  Connecticut,  in  1844,  lasted  from  10  a.m. 
to  2  P.M.,  they  yet  seem  to  be  more  frequent  near  the  be- 
ginning and  end  of  the  day ;  as  also  in  the  Arctic  regions. 
Scheiner  in  1630  reports  one  as  lasting  five  hours. 

It  has  been  found  with  a  good  degree  of  certainty  that 


22  A  Layman's  Look  at  Four  Miracles. 

the  source  of  these  phenomena  is  in  the  refraction  of 
light  by  crystals  of  ice  floating  in  the  air.  It  is  appar- 
ent, that  when  the  ice  crystals  were  but  few,  there  would 
be  but  a  faint  halo,  or  parhelion,  as  the  case  might  be. 
Between  such  a  state,  and  one  where  the  density  of  the 
cloud  would  not  allow  the  passage  of  the  light  refracted, 
lies  a  point  where  the  most  light  is  refracted  and  able  to 
pass  through.  This  parhelion  is  recorded  as  '*  sometimes 
dazzlingly  brighf  (Cent.  Diet.),  and  it  is  said,  "  being  of 
itself  a  source  of  light,  sometimes  very  intense^  may  have 
its  surrounding  halos, — called  secondary"  (Lib.  Univ. 
KnowL,  vol.  vii.,  p.  255).  Plainly  such  light  could  replace 
the  sun,  being  indeed  sunlight  at  second  hand. 

If,  then,  we  conceive  such  a  parhelion  to  have  formed 
some  time  before  sunset,  the  sun  itself  being  concealed 
by  a  cloud  from  this  time  till  what  would  have  been  its 
setting,  it  might  last  long  after  sunset,  and  even  give 
some  semblance  of  twilight  for  a  time  after  its  direct 
light  was  cut  off.  For  the  parhelion,  the  representative 
sun,  would  be  47°  behind  the  original  source  of  its  light, 
and  be  over  three  hours  later  in  setting.  Less  than  that 
would  justify  the  language  of  the  record;  but  that,  or  a 
little  more,  is  the  sequence  possible  under  the  operation 
of  natural  law. 

Some  one  may  say,  but  there  must  have  been  a  strange 
state  of  the  atmosphere  to  bring  this  about.  Very  true, 
very  true,  and  we  have  the  hail-storm  of  that  day  as  a 
guarantee  that  it  was  so.  Such  hail-storms  are  so  rare,  that 
earthquakes  are  comparatively  frequent, but  they  do  occur 
nevertheless.  Here  we  see  no  natural  law  broken,  though 
none  but  God  could  have  known  what  Joshua  would 
ask,  nor  any  but  God  have  arranged  to  fulfil  his  request. 


A  Layman's  Look  at  Four  Miracles.  23 

And  therefore  it  was  a  miracle,  and  also, 
natural  law  does  not  contravene,  but  confirms, 
the  record  of  the  Bible. 


In  proceeding  to  consider  the  subject  of  the  Deluge 
we  may  well  be  moved  with  great  self-distrust  and  hesi- 
tation, as  we  look  at  the  astounding  character  of  the 
event.  What  at  first  appears  to  be  the  plain  meaning  of 
the  record  is,  that  no  portion  of  the  globe  remained  un- 
covered by  water ;  and  that  not  only  all  mankind,  but 
all  land  animals,  with  the  exception  of  the  occupants  of 
Noah's  ark,  were  destroyed.  The  frequent  occurrence 
of  sea-shells  and  other  marine  fossils  at  great  elevations, 
combined  with  a  world-wide  tradition  to  give  ready  ac- 
ceptance to  this  understanding  of  the  Bible  statement. 

Let  us  begin  by  ourselves  giving  to  this  view  the  benefit 
of  possession.  With  the  cashier  in  dealing  with  bank- 
bills,  let  us  "  make  much  of  our  first  impressions,"  and 
see  if  there  is  nothing  to  be  found  in  nature  to  give 
countenance  to  it.  Time  enough  to  seek  other  versions, 
when  this  proves  untenable. 

Let  us  ask,  How  could  such  a  flood  be  produced  ? 
The  question  is  not  whether  God  is  able  to  do  it ;  but 
whether,  as  He  sometimes  uses  means  in  working  mira- 
cles, we  can  discern  in  His  creation  any  means  capable 
of  effecting  such  a  result. 

Reflection  gives  us  great  reason  against  bringing 
waters  of  which  we  have  no  knowledge  from  a  subma- 
rine chasm  equally  unknown,  and  still  more  against  the 
view  of  that  sage  who  imagined  the  atmosphere  turned 
into  water.  When  the  Almighty  "  divided  the  waters 
which  were  under  the  firmament  from  the  waters  which 


24  A  Layman's  Look  at  Four  Miracles. 

were  above  the  firmament,'^  He  gathered  the  former 
"  together  unto  one  place,"  and  "  called  it  Seas."  This 
being  much  greater  in  amount,  as  well  as  the  source 
whence  the  moisture  of  the  air  is  renewed,  is  the  water 
that  we  have  to  do  with.  These  oceans  partake  of  the 
earth's  rotation,  about  a  thousand  miles  per  hour  at  the 
equator,  diminishing  to  nothing  at  the  poles;  and  in 
consequence  of  this  rotation,  the  earth  is  protuberant  at 
the  equator,  the  surface  being  there  thirteen  miles  farther 
from  the  centre  than  it  is  at  the  poles.  Should  the  rota- 
tion slacken  or  cease  entirely,  two  results  would  follow : 
the  water  would  for  a  time  retain  its  previous  motion, 
and  come  with  force  upon  the  land  east  of  it,  and  the 
bulge  at  the  equator  would  cease,  the  water  passing 
north  and  south,  until  it  should  be  of  equal  height  from 
pole  to  pole,  measuring  from  the  centre. 

There  is  no  record,  nor  any  physical  indication  of  such 
a  stoppage,  though  to  conceive  it  may  be  of  use  in  helping 
us  to  grasp  the  more  complicated  movements  of  which 
we  may  be  able  to  adduce  some  evidence.  Let  us  think 
of  the  axis  of  the  earth  as  having  been  different  before 
the  flood,  so  that  the  obliquity  of  the  ecliptic  should  be 
say  ten  degrees  instead  of  23°  28^  Then  a  change  to  the 
present  axis  would  change  the  size  and  position  of  the 
tropics  and  polar  circles,  the  seasons  both  in  duration 
and  intensity,  and  the  length  of  day  and  night.  In  re- 
gard to  the  shape,  it  would,  after  a  period  of  transition, 
be  found  of  the  same  spheroidal  shape  as  before ;  only 
the  poles  will  be  at  points  thirteen  degrees  and  twenty- 
eight  minutes  distant  from  the  antediluvian  poles,  and 
the  equator  will  intersect  the  old  equator  at  two  points, 
crossing  it  obliquely,  and  reaching  midway  of  the  inter- 


A  Ltiy mail's  Look  at  Four  Miracles.  25 

sections  the  distance  of  13°  28^  In  that  period  of  tran- 
sition, the  catastrophe  of  which  we  are  speaking  took 
place,  and  it  may  be  more  easily  apprehended  by  intro- 
ducing here  the  other  factor  in  the  result,  the  cause  of 
the  changed  position  of  the  axis. 

Plato  in  his  dialogue  called  "Tim sens"  gives  an  ac- 
count of  Atlantis,  a  very  large  island  situated  to  the  west 
of  the  Straits  of  Gibraltar.  It  had  been  told  to  Solon 
while  travelHng  in  Egypt  by  a  courteous  priest  of  Neith, 
or  Minerva,  at  Sais,  a  principal  city  of  the  Delta.  Ac- 
cording to  him,  this  island  was  as  large  as  Asia  Minor 
and  Libya  taken  together,  which  might  be  as  much  as 
three  hundred  thousand  square  miles  or  more.  It  was 
governed  by  a  monarch,  was  fertile ;  its  people,  virtuous, 
and  prosperous ;  but  later,  changed  for  the  worse,  be- 
came arrogant  and  aggressive,  and  conquered  largely 
both  in  Europe  and  Africa.  After  its  career  of  con- 
quest was  checked,  the  Gods  for  its  impiety,  with  earth- 
quake and  a  deluge  in  one  day  and  night,  sank  it  entirely 
beneath  the  sea. 

Let  us  make  ourselves  spectators  of  this  scene,  and 
ask  how  will  the  submergence  of  this  large  island  affect 
this  earth  and  its  motions  ?  Much  of  the  region  of  the 
ocean  named  from  this  ill-fated  island  is  over  two  thou- 
sand fathoms,  or  two  miles  and  over,  in  depth.*  Into  the 
vast  depression  thus  formed,  waters  from  the  surround- 
ing parts  would  rush.  It  may  have  been  a  day,  it  may 
have  been  very  likely  the  forty  days  before  it  ceased  its 
downward  course.  The  waters  from  the  south  would 
enter  the  chasm  with  a  violent  rush  towards  the  east,  and 


*  See  the  maps  in  the  ♦<  Voyage  of  the  Challenger. 
3 


26  A  Layman's  Look  at  Four  Miracles. 

those  from  the  north  would  tend  to  the  west.  The  col- 
lision of  vast  streams  of  water  at  velocities  rising  to  sev- 
eral miles  in  a  minute  would  not,  however,  be  the  chief 
cause  of  the  flood.  A  great  amount  of  spray  was  blended 
with  the  rain,  but  nothing  in  that  alone  was  equal  to  the 
production  of  the  flood.  But  further,  the  quadrillions  of 
tons  of  water  that  filled  this  gap  were  drawn,  as  the 
waters  found  their  level,  from  the  general  ocean  surface 
of  the  globe.  Their  weight  being  all  added  to  the  site 
of  the  late  island,  would  throw  the  globe  out  of  equi- 
poise, it  would  be,  so  to  speak,  lop-sided,  and  would 
rotate  by  jerks  with  a  wabbling  and  screw-like  motion. 
As  it  gradually  accommodated  itself  by  changing  its 
axis  to  suit  the  new  distribution  of  the  mass,  the  motions 
due  to  the  changing  condition  disappeared  and  those 
alone  remained  that  pertained  to  regular  revolution 
upon  the  new  axis.  In  the  motions  that  transferred  the 
general  distribution  of  water  from  the  old  place  and 
course  to  the  new  (overcoming  the  inertia  which  would 
have  continued  the  old  pace  and  direction)  appears  to  be 

ABUNDANT   CAUSE    FOR   A   UNIVERSAL    DELUGE. 

It  would  be  very  rash,  and  headlong  error  to  think  of 
ascribing  the  entirety  of  fossils  on  high  mountains  to  this 
event.  We  need  have  no  doubt  that  many  may  have 
that  origin ;  we  have  plenty  of  reason  why  a  number 
should  be  differently  assigned.  There  is  a  record  which 
may  well  be  thought  to  complete  our  links,  and  in  men- 
tioning a  fact  of  which  the  writers  almost  certainly  knew 
not  the  significance,  may  be  set  down  as  furnishing  the 
testimony  of  the  starry  heavens  to  the  theory  of  the 
deluge  here  maintained.  In  a  note  on  page  268  of 
Rawlinson's  "  Historical  Evidences,"  is  given  from  Fa- 


A  Layman's  Look  at  Four  Miracles.  27 

ber's  ''  Horae  Mosaicae"  this  Chinese  tradition :  "  The 
pillars  of  heaven  were  broken — the  earth  shook  to  its 
foundations — the  heavens  sunk  lower  toward  the 
NORTH — the  sun,  the  moon,  and  the  stars  changed  their 
motions — the  earth  fell  to  pieces;  and  the  waters  en- 
closed within  its  bosom  burst  forth  with  violence  and 
overflowed  it.  Man  having  rebelled  against  heaven, 
the  system  of  the  universe  was  totally  disordered.  The 
sun  was  eclipsed,  the  planets  altered  their  course,  and 
the  grand  harmony  of  Nature  was  disturbed."  As 
the  heavens  were  not  changed ;  when  they  seemed 
lower,  it  was  because  the  pole  of  the  earth  was  higher 
than  before.  Neither  of  the  gentlemen  from  whose 
learning  and  diligence  this  quotation  comes,  seems  to 
have  noticed  the  importance  of  the  words  which  are 
here  put  into  capitals.  The  phrase  ''  the  earth  fell  to 
pieces"  may  well  also  describe  the  breaking  of  strata 
and  formation  of  faults  as  the  land  as  well  as  the  sea 
adjusted  itself  to  the  new  curved  surface.  We  may 
observe  that  the  axis  might  have  been  changed,  but  the 
obliquity  be  the  same  as  before,  the  last  quotation  and 
the  next  consideration  favor  or  prove  a  change  of  ob- 
liquity as  well. 

It  may  be  worth  while  also  for  our  friends  who  know 
much  about  the  animal  creation,  and  those  who  are 
familiar  with  the  glacial  period,  to  consider  whether  the 
difference  of  climates  and  seasons,  arising  from  a  differ- 
ent position  of  the  axis  (the  one  suggested  or  some 
other)  may  not  help  to  explain  the  different  range  of 
various  animals  then  and  now,  and  also  to  throw  light 
upon  the  former  great  extent  of  the  polar  ice.  A  status 
which  sent  the  sun's  rays  to  Philadelphia  at  such  an 


28  A  Layman's  Look  at  Foiw  Miracles. 

angle  of  incidence  as  now  belongs  to  the  northern  end 
of  Newfoundland,  has  surely  left  intelligible  marks. 

Those  who  have  been  inclined  to  regard  the  flood  as 
partial,  may  inquire  where  a  depression  can  be  found  so 
surrounded  as  to  prevent  a  place  of  refuge,  and  yet  keep 
the  waters  from  passing  all  barriers  lower  than  the  high- 
est, or  where  a  partial  deluge  could  be  located  that  would 
require  seven  montlis  to  drain  off?  This  seems  to  be 
good  reason  for  thinking  that  an  efficient  deluge  cannot 
but  be  universal. 

The  want  of  room  in  the  ark  to  accommodate  the 
animals,  depends,  it  is  said,  upon  the  number  of  species; 
but  what  is  more  uncertain  than  that  ?  Hear  the  "  Cen- 
tury Dictionary."  *'  In  the  actual  naming,  characterizing, 
and  classifying  of  species,  naturalists  differ  widely,  some 
reducing  to  one  or  two  species,  the  same  series  of  indi- 
viduals which  others  describe  as  a  dozen  or  twenty." 
And  Chambers  says,  ""  In  organic  nature,  it  has  usu- 
ally been  regarded  as  possessing  a  higher  and  more 
definite  signification.  But  no  term  is  more  difficult  to 
define.  Man}^  definitions  have  been  proposed,  but  none 
wholly  satisfactory,  every  attempt  at  definition  involving 
— more  or  less — some  disputed  theory." 

We  find  then,  in  regard  to  the  deluge,  that  its 
universality  would  be  a  natural  consequence  of 
a  change  in  the  position  of  the  axis  of  the  earth; 
that  Plato  testifies  to  the  sinking  of  the  island 
Atlantis,  and  that  would  produce  a  change  of 
axis ;  and  that  the  Chinese  record  testifies  to  the 
change  in  the  place  and  motion  of  the  heavenly 
bodies  which  would  result  from  the  change  of 
the  axis.     And  we  think  it  may  be  said  that 


A  Layman's  Look  at  Four  Miracles.  29 

there  is  no  such  consensus  of  proof  for  any- 
other  view  of  the  deluge  as  for  this ;  and  this 
is  also  the  tradition  of  almost  the  whole  human 
race. 

We  have  looked  at  four  miracles,  and  in  carefully  re- 
garding the  presence  of  natural  laws,  the  action  of  sec- 
ond causes,  in  the  production  of  the  divinely  intended 
result,  no  idea  is  entertained  that  all  miracles  must  be 
like  them.  In  the  course  of  time  some  may  be  added 
to  the  number  of  such  ;  while  of  many  we  may  still  have 
no  account  to  give  but  the  pleasure  and  the  immediate 
power  of  God.  Concerning  all  in  which  we  hitherto 
discern  nothing  intermediate,  we  have  good  right  to 
exercise  patience  and  faith,  as  we  observe  through  what 
long  periods  of  time  the  fact  of  a  miracle  may  be  known, 
and  the  part  that  natural  law  had  therein  not  even  sus- 
pected. 

We  have,  too,  the  reliability  of  the  records.  When 
an  ambassador  from  another  nation  approaches  our 
government,  he  presents  his  credentials,  the  evidence  of 
his  rank  and  mission.  Assured  by  these  we  receive  him, 
and  should  by  no  means  treat  him  at  every  turn  as  an 
object  of  suspicion.  His  word,  his  hand  and  seal,  are 
proof  of  the  correctness  of  his  statements,  and  of  the 
fidelity  with  which  our  sister  nation  will  carry  out  what 
he  undertakes  in  her  name. 

So  a  few  miracles,  a  single  miracle  soundly  proven,  is 
the  endorsement  given  by  the  Author  of  Creation  to  an 
appearance,  a  command,  or  a  messenger.  No  multitude 
of  occurrences  which  are  not  miracles  can  invalidate  one 
real  miracle.     To  allow  it  is  to  cast  untruth  upon  God. 


30  A  Layman's  Look  at  Four  Miracles. 

Of  miracles  recorded  as  history,  many  were  intended  for 
effect  on  particular  persons,  or  times  long  past.  Dis- 
cernment of  their  character  was  given  to  those  to  whom 
they  were  sent.  The  falling  of  the  Holy  Ghost  upon  all 
the  persons  assembled  in  the  house  of  Cornelius,  the 
centurion,  was  evidence  that  satisfied  the  Jewish  Chris- 
tians present,  that  these  heathen  should  betaken  as  their 
brethren.  The  miracle  of  the  great  sheet  seen  by  Peter 
at  Joppa  was  personal,  to  direct  him,  contrary  to  all  his 
prejudices,  to  become  the  guest  of  the  Roman  centurion. 
He  was  left  in  no  doubt  whence  it  came,  and  when  all 
the  steps  by  which  he  was  led  were  by  him  related  to 
the  Christians  at  Jerusalem  "  they  held  their  peace,  and 
glorified  God,  saying,  Then  hath  God  also  to  the  Gentiles 
granted  repentance  unto  life." 

Miracles  and  answers  to  prayer  are  near  of  kin.  If 
we  may  become  certain  that  we  receive  answers  to  our 
prayers,  as  some  assure  us  has  been  their  experience,  we 
shall  suffer  nothing  for  lack  of  miracles.  May  increasing 
multitudes  find  it  so. 


